Travel Toiletries

When traveling or even planning to travel a lot of time and effort is put into packing your stuff like clothes, shoes, important documents, electronics, etc. Packing is crucial as missing any one item will lead to some issue or a cost of replacing it if it’s essential. Packing is most certainly an art. You want the right essentials, occupying little to no space and also as low weight as possible. And toiletries packing is a real struggle. You can adapt, adjust and compromise with just about anything but not toiletries. Even the readily available store-purchased travel-sized toiletries may not suit your purpose and be large. In addition to packing, forgetting something crucial back home is a reality many travelers face. That’s is why usually tourists have a checklist handy to ensure everything is packed and nothing is left behind. One of the items also a part of the list is your toiletries. Today we will have a look at Men’s and Women’s travel toiletries and everything about them.

What is Travel Toiletries?

Well, toiletries are items from your bathroom that are used in the daily preservation and care of our bodies, both male and female. They are as basic as soap, shampoo, and toothpaste and get complex as well depending on the nature of travel involved. But to be efficient and comprehensive in your list, so that we can help all the types of travelers, we will include all beauty products, grooming products, and as such other essential items to a part of this article. Travel toiletries gain significance as when we are at home we can have an entire cupboard of such items each with its own specific purpose neatly kept. However during any type of travel, there is usually a large space constraint and often there is also an added cost to all of it, like e.g. when carrying luggage on a flight. You want the toiletries to not just pack into a tiny pack, but also weigh the very least to avoid burdening yourself with too much stuff while not missing out on any of the products essential to you.

Travel restrictions for toiletries

Apart from the space constraints of fitting them all together neatly into your bag, there can be additional restrictions to carry them. Like in the case of aircraft, where you have several restrictions and you should know clearly what you are allowed to carry on board. Carryon luggage is also called cabin luggage and the restrictions for them are different from those of check-in luggage. For cabin bags, you can carry 3.4 ounces or 100ml containers with toiletries. Containers larger than 3.4 ounces and 100ml, must go in checked-in luggage. You can carry paste, gel, cream, liquid, aerosols, etc. However, do check the exact rules with the airline you are flying to be on the safer side because rules can be slightly different for different regions and carriers.

Best way to carry toiletries in travel

Since space and weight restrictions are prime, travelers usually buy travel pouches and a couple of travel containers that can carry their necessary items. These containers are watertight and usually used for body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and anything else that can fit. Nowadays many liquid products are available in solid form like Solid Shampoo bar, toothpaste tablets, lotions in bar form, etc. to make them easy to carry during travel. We have shared below the list of liquid products that are now available in solid form:

• Solid moisturizer
• Solid sunscreen
• Solid conditioner bar
• Solid toothpaste in form of tablet or powder
• Solid shampoo bars
• Solid dry shampoo
• Solid laundry soap sheets
• Solid insect and bug repellent
• Solid exfoliator and soap bar
• Solid makeup foundation stick
• Solid face cleansing stick

There! Half of your troubles are already over. However, a lot of these choices would still come down to personal preferences. And like me, many would still prefer to go with the real toothpaste and not its power or tablet form. So next, we will take a look at all that is needed under the “Travel Toiletries” section and their importance. We hope to make this article comprehensive so that you can get all the information you need here itself.

List of all toiletries

Let’s have a look at all the essential toiletries and how you should choose them. The list may look impractically long and endless, but we are just trying to fit everything in together. The final list will differ from person to person and most probably won’t include a lot of these items. Also, the list will change w.r.t to the gender, but if you are traveling as a couple or family, this list will be of great help to you. Trust us, you will not be forgetting anything while packing henceforth.

Mouth Hygiene

• Toothpaste: We discussed power or solid toothpaste, but if you are not comfortable buy a small toothpaste container or better still carry one at home that is almost empty.
• Toothbrush: Find a brush that is either foldable or small in size. The toothbrush is very long fitting it in a small toiletry bag can be a challenge. If you want to stick to your favorite one, you can even saw off half of the length. This makes it easier
• Mouthwash: This one can be dicey and subjective as it depends on person to person. Just find the smallest one.
• Mouth Floss: Floss picks are small and almost weightless. Carry one or two for every night and you should be just fine.

Body Hygiene

These are personal hygiene products and most people will not be comfortable using the ones readily provided in hotels as they may not be as good and also because our skins are usually sensitive. It’s best to buy smaller travel containers for each of these items to pack and carry with ease.

But, I have another trick up my sleeve as well. For Body wash, Shampoo, Conditioner, Oil, and Moisturizer, I usually carry small sachets which are easily available at departmental stores or even online. They are the same products that you use daily, but in extremely small packing sizes. The sachets are easy to carry, do not mess, easy to pack without any hassles, and do not leak unless pierced. I carry as many as I would ideally require but not a lot. Most of these items are simple to understand and do not need any explanation.

• Body Wash/ Soap
• Shampoo / Dry Shampoo
• Conditioner / Leave-in Conditioner
• Loofah
• Oil

Personal Hygiene

Like some of the earlier items we discussed, some of the below items will ideally be available in your room provided complimentary with your stay. However, if you are not sure about them, it’s best to carry the ones you have at home. Just ensure that you only carry as much as you would need throughout your holiday to not load up your bags with a lot of weight. When it comes to luggage during travel, every little bit of weight saved goes a long way.

• Face Wash/Scrub
• Feminine Wash
• Shaving Cream
• Razor
• Aftershave cream/ lotion
• Scissors

Skin Hygiene 

There are some skincare products that we use throughout the day and multiple times. Like Moisturizer. If you are in winters and unless that product is easily available locally, you will have to carry it. This is just an example and as we said, people’s skin can be sensitive and choices very personal. So sometimes it’s better to carry what you are comfortable with than go hunting for something which may not be available in a foreign destination.

• Eye Cream
• Face Moisturizer
• Body Moisturizer
• Body Powder
• Sunblock/ Sun Protection
• Deodorant
• Perfume
• Anti-heat Spray
• Facial Wipes

Grooming Hygiene items

You will feel that a lot of these items are not necessary like Hair Spray, Curling Iron, etc. But these needs are dependent on the location, type of travel, and your personal preferences too. Do make a note of these as you pack your toiletry bag.

• Comb/Brush
• Styling Brush/Styling Comb
• Styling Gel/Mousse
• Hair Spray
• Hair Smoothing Cream
• Hand Moisturizer
• Hand Sanitizer
• Nail Polish
• Nail Clippers
• Nail Polish Remover
• Makeup Remover
• Hair Removal Cream
• Flat Iron/Straightener
• Blow Dryer
• Curling Iron
• Female hygiene – Tampons, pads, and/ or menstrual cups

Packing of the rest of the toiletries

• Toiletry bag: Choose one which is ideally leakproof, so that even in the worst-case scenario, the contents won’t leak outside into your clothes. Toiletries are placed in bags and no matter how much you care for them, they will always face a few bumps here and there. Also, air pressure changes in the flight can cause them to even explode or leak. Your toiletry bag must seal the contents so that they do not leak into other contents of the bag.
• Makeup bag: Keep makeup and such products separate in another toiletry bag, so that it’s easy to arrange when you dig and look for stuff. Nowadays, there are several travel-sized makeup kits readily available for purchase. So ladies can invest in one and carry it along during all their travels without going through hassles of packing them separately.
• First Aid pack: Besides, do carry a small First Aid pack which will carry your prescription medicine, contact lenses solution, a couple of bandages (for small cuts or nips), and pain relievers. This is essential for emergencies and those times of the nights when doctors won’t be easily available or to just get through the day. If you want to be careful, we would recommend you carry first-aid ointment, tweezers, gloves, roller gauze, gauze pads, non-adhesive pads, disinfectant, scissors, triangular bandage, medical tape, elastic bandage, safety pins, etc. Also, it should have simple medicines to take care of fever, mild pain, mild skin problems/infections nasal congestion (skin rash cream/ antiseptic cream), cough, and sore throat. To skip the hassle of individually searching for them, ready-made first-aid kits can also be bought online or in pharmacy chain stores.

Travel Toiletries Packing tips

Packing is crucial because if you forget any of the essential items in the list, it can result in either mild inconvenience or can result in some real issues as well. Simple ones like toothpaste, brushes, and combs can be made available by simply calling the front desk for a spare set. So when it comes to toiletries, do ensure that you pack in all the essential items like your medications, contacts, and other important stuff.

Also, packing right is crucial. The general rule of thumb is that “Less is always more”. The term travel toiletries seem pretty innocent and a small bunch of items that can be tucked away into a small corner of your bag. Voila! If you have a look at the list we have covered, your head will be spinning by now. The simple-looking list will now eat up that crucial packing space and also add up to the weight. Let’s look at some tips:

• Carry the least of what you will need. Keep everything light.
• Pack all the items into small tuck-able sizes.
• Check airline regulations to know what goes into check-in luggage and what goes into the hold.
• Carry packets and sachets as far as you can so that you can dispose of them and they don’t occupy space. If you carry containers for everything, the empty containers will still occupy space though not weight.
• If you are traveling in the same country, the local pharmacy will have some of the products on your list, so skip those and buy locally.
• If you travel frequently, buy in bulk, to save time, money, and effort in buying and managing them.

Summary

We have made a very comprehensive list of items that should ideally fit the list of toiletries and the list is long. What goes into your bag will ultimately depend on you, your preferences, and your choices, mode of travel, and duration of travel. These are factors that are mostly personal and we will leave it up to you to figure out. Happy Travels!